


The Crier

by AmaranthPrincess21



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Folk Tales, Gen, amateur ghost hunting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-14
Updated: 2014-10-14
Packaged: 2018-02-21 03:46:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2453522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmaranthPrincess21/pseuds/AmaranthPrincess21
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's the night before Halloween and you've convinced your boyfriend Levi to go on an amateur ghost hunt with you to find the spirit of La Llorona, a woman said to have drowned her children. The night goes from lighthearted to terrifying when you came across the cries of ghostly children . . .</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Crier

**Author's Note:**

> My Spanish is extremely limited, so if my Spanish is incorrect please let me know so I can fix it!

“You got the tape recorder?”

“Yes.” 

“And you packed the extra batteries?” 

“Yes.” 

“And you have the flashlights?” 

“Yes!” 

“I can’t believe you talked me into this.” It was the night before Halloween and you had convinced your long-suffering boyfriend Levi to accompany you on a ghost hunt. You smiled at him as you shut the door to his car’s trunk. 

“Come on Levi, where’s your sense of adventure?” you pouted, getting in the passenger seat. 

“It died a long time ago with my soul,” he deadpanned, getting into the driver’s seat and starting the car. You laughed and playfully punched his arm. 

“You’re such a dork. But really. This is going to be so much fun! And even if we don’t find La Llorona, it’ll still be a beautiful moon-lit walk along the river,” you pointed out. 

“I don’t understand why we would want to find her. Didn’t she drown her kids or some shit?” he asked. 

“Legend has it,” you commented, taking a sip from your water bottle. “I know there’s are a lot of different versions, but in the one I was always told La Llorona was once a beautiful young woman with two kids, a boy and a girl. She was married, but she fell in love with another man and started an affair with him. The kids got in the way of her and her lover, so she drowned them in the river. When she died, God asked her where her children were and told her she could only get into heaven once she found her children and brought them with her to the pearly gates. Ever since then, La Llorona has been cursed to walk the earth, searching for her lost children. She walks along rivers looking for her dead children. If she finds anyone near a river at night, especially children, she’ll go after them and drown them in the river, taking their souls. She’s always dressed in white. Some say where her face should be is just skin. No eyes, no mouth, nothing. Others say God gave her an additional punishment and cursed her with the head of a horse.” 

“What, is she related to Jean, or something?” Levi asked. You snorted, dying of laughter at his comment. 

“Levi!” you scolded him, still giggling. 

“What? I know you were thinking it too,” he defended himself. You chuckled and kissed his cheek. 

“I love your stupid sense of humor,” you told him. He smirked. 

“Damn right you do,” he said. The river ran parallel with one of the old freeways, so it wasn’t too hard to get to the river. Locals said that La Llorona always started her nightly trek from a rock formation a few miles out into the desert, so that’s where you and Levi were heading. The row of large boulders were coming into view when the lights on Levi’s car cut out. 

“God damn it!” he hissed, pulling off to the side of the road and parking. “I just had the lights fixed a week ago! How the hell are these lights dead already?!” 

“We’re almost there! Can’t we just drive the rest of the way without lights?” you suggested, watching Levi get out of the car. “I mean,” you added, opening your door so he could hear you. “It’s pretty light outside. We can see well enough without headlights.” 

“I’m not driving without my lights. Even if I can see the road without them, it’s dangerous and I’m not doing it.” Sighing, you unbuckled your seat belt and got out of the car. 

“How long will it take you to fix this?” you asked. 

“Fifteen, twenty minutes, depending what the problem is,” he replied. “The rock formation is just over there. Go on and start without me. Unless you’re scared.” 

“I’m not scared! I just want you to be with me for this. But fine, I’ll get started while you fix the lights.” You kissed his cheek and opened the trunk, taking out a flashlight and a tape recorder. “I’ll just be over there, babe.” 

“All right. I’ll try and make this quick so we can do your stupid little ghost hunt.” 

“Hey! You agreed to do this! You’re into it, admit it,” you teased him. 

“I’ll agree with you when hell freezes over,” he replied. You laughed and gave him a hug before setting out to the row of large boulders a quarter of a mile away. _God, I love that man,_ you thought with a smirk. _I hope he fixes the car soon. I don’t want to have to walk all the way back. I’m not about that life._

Despite it being October, the night air was still warm as you made your way over to the riverside. The night didn’t feel spooky in the slightest: it was bright outside, the breeze was warm and comforting, and the dry desert was the opposite of what made up horror movies. Even the rock formation didn’t look scary; it was just something nature made and not the supernatural. The river rushed along, minding its own business as you climbed on top of one of the boulders. You looked behind you to check up on Levi. It looked like he had figured out the problem and was getting it fixed. _It looks like he’s going to be a while still. I’ll just get started on my own._ You pulled the tape recorder and turned it on. 

“All right, it’s October thirtieth. This is [First], and it is . . . twelve oh four am. I’m starting this spirit talky session. So. Is anyone here?” you paused for a few seconds before speaking again. “What’s your name?” Again, you paused. “How did you die?” _Uh, what else should I ask?_ “Uh, when did you die?” Pausing before you turned the recorder off, you took a deep breath and played the recording, hoping to hear any spectral responses. 

_“All right, it’s October thirtieth. This is [First], and it is . . .”_ you listened to the recording silently, trying to pick out any noises. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary during the first question. _“How did you die?”_

_“Ayúdanos!”_ You dropped the recorder, jolting from the young, childish voices on the tape. _“Ayúdanos, por favor!” Holy shit, what the actual fuck?!_ A chill went down your spine as you continued listening to the children’s cries for you assumed was help, talking over you until you asked how they died. The audio became eerily silent. _Levi, I’d appreciate it if you came over here right fucking now,_ you thought as you felt yourself tense up. A flash of white ducking behind a rock caught your eye. You paused the recording, trying to see around the large rock. _I’m not getting up and checking it out,_ you thought, putting the recorder and your phone down next to your flashlight. _I’m not going over to investigate; that’s what gets people killed in horror movies._ You stood up and tried to see over the other rock. _Damn it, I can’t see anything. Maybe I just imagined it. Or maybe it’s just the kids from the tape. Yeah, it’s just the harmless kids on the tape._

Your stomach dropped as you heard footsteps on the riverbed. _Oh dear God, please be Levi,_ you silently begged, glancing back to the car. Levi was back at the car, putting his tools back in the trunk. _Oh no._ You turned back to look at the river and saw nothing. Your heart calmed down a little bit, but at the same time uneasiness grew in your stomach. Something _was_ with you, but you couldn’t see it. 

And just when it couldn’t get any worse, you heard the crying. The painful, heart-breaking, throat-ripping cries of a woman. Your heart and stomach fell to the ground. 

A tall woman dressed in white walked along the river banks, clothes waterlogged and collecting sand. Her stringy black hair was soaked and sandy, and where her face should have been was just pale, deathly-white skin. And yet the figure looked agonized as it screamed and cry – oh yes, you could tell that this woman was the source of the crying – displaying that it didn’t need a face to show what it was feeling. 

A scream escaped your mouth as you laid eyes on the figure. _I need to get out of here! We need to leave!_ The figure turned its head to you sharply, as if just noticing your presence. Your heart stopped as your hands fumbled for your belongings. You got off the tall rock, nearly falling to your knees before regaining your composure and running. 

“LEVI! START THE CAR! START THE CAR!” you screeched, running at breakneck speed for him. For once in his life, your stoic boyfriend lost his composure when he saw you and the figure hot on your heels. He started towards the driver seat, ready to swoop in and save you from the angry spirit. Your foot caught on a gopher hole, pulling you down to the earth as a horrible stretching feeling shot through your leg. 

“[FIRST]!” Levi shouted, abandoning the car and sprinting towards you. The wet hand of La Llorona grabbed your ankle, dragging you kicking and screaming towards the water. 

“LET ME GO! LET ME GO!” you cried, trying to anchor your hands in the loose ground. Levi grabbed your arms, trying to pull out of the spirit’s grip. Pain hit your body as the spirit’s grip got tighter, fingers digging into your skin. _The tape recorder. The tape recorder! If she hears the kids on the tape maybe she’ll let me go,_ the idea dawned on you. “LEVI! LET GO!” 

“ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY?! I’M NOT LETTING GO!” he yelled, fire in his silver eyes. 

“JUST DO IT!” you screamed. You looked up to him, mouthing the words, “Go play my tape recorder from the beginning of the audio!” He looked around your recorder and once he saw it, he let go of you, sprinting towards the small black box. _Good, be quick about it!_ Rocks snagged your clothes and sand rubbed your stomach raw as La Llorona dragged you towards the river. Levi was fumbling with the tape recorder, trying to rewind it. _Levi! Hurry!_

The spirit’s fingers let go of your ankle and before you could crawl away, its fingers were in your hair and forced your head under water. _Shit shit shit!_ You thrashed on the riverbed, trying to force your head above water. Your lungs were crying for air like a newborn cries for milk, the horrible yearning and heaving of your body as it demanded air shaking your body. You shut your eyes, fear coursing through your veins as you struggled to keep the last bit of oxygen in your lungs. 

And then you felt the horrible pressure on your head leave. 

Your body jerked back, gasping for air. You sprinted towards the car without hesitation, lungs heaving as air rushed into your system. Heavy footsteps joined your, Levi catching up with you. 

“It worked, but I don’t know how long it will,” he said. “Just keep running!” 

“Like I was going to stop!” you retorted. You threw the car door open, barely inside before Levi launched himself into the driver’s seat and took off. You shut your door and buckled yourself in, trying to take deep breaths to calm your body down. Your racing heart and lungs fought against your attempts painfully. 

“How are you?” Levi asked softly. 

“I just had something try to kill me, how do you think I feel?!” you replied. 

“I figured but I wanted to know your take on it,” he said. “It’s over now and I’m sorry I didn’t get the tape going fast enough. But you’re safe now. You’re okay now. You’re -” 

“I’m not okay!” you snapped at him, inexplicable tears welling in your eyes. “I might be safe now but I’m not okay! I almost died; how am I supposed to be okay right now?!” You dabbed your eyes to dry them as Levi remained silent. 

“I’m sorry. That was a shitty thing to say,” he told you. 

“Just get us home. I’m staying at your place tonight. I don’t want to be alone right now,” you told him. 

“Yeah, sure.” The rest of the car ride was silent as you two drove back into town. You were still trying to wrap your head around the horrific events that just happened. _All I want to do is forget what happened and never go near a river again,_ you thought, resting your head against the glass window. Vibrations from the bumpy road beneath you shook your head as you closed your eyes. All you could see was her. _Well, I’m not sleeping tonight,_ you thought as you reluctantly opened your eyes again. 

“I understand if you don’t want to talk about it, but this does raise some questions,” he began. “You know I’m not into that ghost bullshit, but after seeing that I don’t know what to think.” 

“Well, either there’s a psycho on the loose that’s taken to pretending to be La Llorona or ghosts are real,” you said. “Frankly I hope it’s the first one.” 

“That doesn’t explain the creepy ass kids on the tape,” he pointed out. You bit your lip. 

“That’s true,” you admitted. “I guess ghosts are a thing, then. It makes me wonder if that’s what happens to us when we die.” 

“Who knows? Since those kids were there, it makes me think there’s only roaming the earth after we die.” You sighed, putting your head in your hands. “This night got too depressing,” you lamented. “I just want to forget that this happened.” 

“You wanna take a bath and get wasted while eating some of that fancy food you like?” he suggested. 

“Yes, please,” you replied.


End file.
